The present invention relates to a cash cartridge for being detachably charged into a cash handling machine such as an automatic bank note dispenser, and in particular to such a cash cartridge which incorporates a novel and convenient mechanism for preventing bank notes charged therein from becoming disarranged during transport of the cash cartridge.
Cash handling machines such as automatic bank note dispensers typically are recharged with fresh bank notes by a detachable cash cartridge which is fitted into them. Such a cash cartridge can conveniently be removed from the cash dispenser for being charged with a fresh supply of bank notes, and can then be simply attached to the cash dispenser to provide a supply of bank notes thereto.
For reasons of security and of convenience of counting and arranging, it is desirable for such a cash cartridge to be recharged with a fresh supply of bank notes at a location at least somewhat remote from the location of the cash dispenser to which the cash cartridge will be fitted. For example, in a banking network, it is convenient to recharge the cash cartridges for all the cash dispensers in a particular are at a central bank note counting and recharging station. This provision of a central recharging station is convenient, not only because such a recharging station is required to have available a relatively large amount of bank notes, but also because these bank notes need to be accurately counted and to be accurately stacked together in neat blocks, before being charged into the cash cartridges, and this stacking is a delicate and time consuming operation. Further, the counting of the bank notes and the stacking thereof may conveniently be done by machine, and in such a case it is obviously convenient to perform the counting and recharging in a central charging station, in view of economy of machine utilization.
The problem then arises as to how the stack of bank notes charged into such a cash cartridge is to be kept in the properly stacked and neatly arranged condition in the cash cartridge, while the cash cartridge is being transported to the cash dispenser or other cash handling machine into which it is to be fitted. If during such transport the stack of bank notes in the cash cartridge becomes disarranged or disorganized, and its accurate stacking is lost, then the operation of the cash dispenser will likely be erroneous, and various problem can arise, such as jamming of the cash dispenser, or even in the worst case inaccurate distribution of bank notes to customers.
Now, for biasing the stack of bank notes in the cash cartridge when the cash cartridge is fitted to the cash dispenser, it is common to provide a pressure plate, which is biased towards the stack of bank notes and compresses them and also biases the stack as a whole in a particular direction, typically the direction of a take out roller or rollers for removing the bank notes one at a time from the stack into the interior works of the cash dispenser. Therefore, it is known to provide a means for locking the movement of this pressure plate, which is automatically unlocked to allow movement of the pressure plate when the cash cartridge is fitted to the cash dispenser. The movement of the pressure plate also of course must be unlocked during recharging of the cash cartridge with a fresh stack of bank notes, and accordingly such a mechanism is has the problem that it is complicated and expensive. Further, the cost of a cash cartridge incorporating such a mechanism is high.